Nations Championship month to offer Rugby World Cup clues
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New Australia coach Les Kiss will be using the November round of the Nations Championship to show the Wallabies can be contenders when they host the 2027 World Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- November’s Nations Championship will decide the first title and give teams clues before the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
- France lead the northern section by one point, while South Africa edge out New Zealand in the south after July’s opening three rounds.
- Key Tests include Ireland v Argentina, Scotland v New Zealand, England v Australia and South Africa v Italy, with coaches stressing the value of these final World Cup warmups.
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A November of intense international rugby will not only deliver the first winners of the new Nations Championship, but also lay down some markers with less than a year before the Rugby World Cup kicks off.
The battle between the Six Nations teams and those of the Southern Hemisphere resumes with three weekends of Tests across Europe, followed by a fourth weekend of finals matches from Nov 27 to 29 at Twickenham, where the inaugural Nations Championship victor will be crowned.
The 12 participating countries are split into north and south sections and play six matches – three already in July and three more in November – facing only those in the opposite pool.
After the opening three rounds, South Africa are narrowly ahead of archrivals New Zealand in the southern zone while France top the northern section.
All 12 will play on the finals weekend, with each team matched against its equivalently ranked team in the other pool to decide their final placing.
The northern section is tightly contested, with France one point ahead of Scotland and two ahead of England and Ireland. Each side had two wins and a defeat in July.
Ireland have a chance to move up the standings when they host Argentina on Nov 6, but by the end of the weekend, France are expected to retain their narrow advantage, as they start their fixtures with a clash against Fiji in Lyon on Nov 7.
It will be much tougher for Scotland, who host the All Blacks, unbeaten in the previous 33 meetings between the two countries, on Nov 7 at Murrayfield. New Zealand were in rampant form in October in the Bledisloe Cup against Australia, and under new coach Dave Rennie looked to be returning to their menacing best.
Major blow to confidence
Australia made a positive start when new coach Les Kiss took over after the first set of Nations Championship games but those successive losses to the Kiwis will have been a major blow to confidence. The clash against England at Twickenham on Nov 8 is important in their bid to show they can be contenders when they host the 2027 World Cup.
England also need to show some form after a disappointing Six Nations, where they lost four of five games. “These fixtures represent our final opportunity to face Southern Hemisphere opposition before next year’s World Cup,” said coach Steve Borthwick.
“Facing Australia is an exciting challenge. They have played a significant amount of Test rugby in recent months, and we know the quality and experience they will bring.”
South Africa’s opening game is in Turin against Italy on Nov 7, and coach Rassie Erasmus is warning that “Italy may be ranked 11th in the world, but they are a quality team who have tested us to the limit at times”.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia is from Oct 1 to Nov 13. REUTERS